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College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Food for all, renewable energy, sustainable ecosystems and healthy people and communities—the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is an international leader in the science affecting these challenges. In classrooms, laboratories and through fieldwork around the globe, CALS makes discoveries that improve life and help sustain the natural world. The breadth of expertise from 19 academic fields—encompassing agriculture, natural resources, life sciences and social sciences—puts CALS in a strong position to do this. Private support helps CALS build upon its tradition of addressing problems that affect our food, our environment, our health, and our energy future.

One of the hallmarks of a CALS education is our emphasis on beyond-classroom experiences that allow students to integrate their classroom learning with pre-professional experiences — something we call the CALS Signature Student Experience. More than 72% of CALS undergraduates participate in three or more out-of-classroom experiences, which include studying abroad, working on grant-funded research,… Read more »

And, even though you may not realize it, the research and breakthroughs coming out of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) play an important role in every day life. From improving the production of Greek yogurt to revving up biofuel research that powers the vehicles we drive, CALS is involved in life-changing endeavors.

Wisconsin may best be known as America’s Dairyland, but the state has long been home to a thriving meat industry. Wisconsin was the birthplace of Johnsonville Sausage and Oscar Mayer bologna, and we acknowledge our meat-roots through our professional sports teams, from the history of the Packers’ name to the Brewers’ Racing Sausages. While there’s… Read more »

Like many kids, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology Professor Phil Townsend grew up wanting to be an astronaut. And even though he’s not walking on the surface of the moon or floating in the International Space Station, his work at UW-Madison is beneficial to NASA’s climate-change operations.

For Mark Cook, discovery, like life itself, starts with the egg. “There is so much more to the egg beyond its use as a food,” says Cook, a professor of animal sciences. Cook has explored and developed those other uses throughout a career marked by research prowess and entrepreneurial acumen. His technologies based on egg… Read more »

Scientists at UW-Madison have constructed a highly detailed three-dimensional model of the recently discovered rhinovirus C, which shows why there’s no remedy for an all-too-prevalent virus. Called the “missing link” cold virus, rhinovirus C is believed to be responsible for up to half of all childhood colds.

At its heart, the Wisconsin Idea is about making the world a better place for all of the people in it, and the belief that this change can stem from what we do here every day. It is a belief that Sippl took to heart as she organized her remedy to the problem she saw. It turns out that she didn’t need to look further than her own past.

In South Africa’s fertile rolling hills, it may be difficult to envision that issues such as hunger and sustainability run rampant. But when students and professors from the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) visited, that is exactly what they found. Researchers at the CALS-based Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) are working… Read more »

As the world’s population grows, genetic engineering plays an increasingly important role in helping meet our need for crops. Since genetically engineered crops have laboratory-inserted defenses against disease and pests, they are a frequently misunderstood segment of food production. And that’s where agronomy professor Joe Lauer steps in to make a difference. For the past… Read more »

As the world’s population grows, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) play an increasingly important role in helping meet our demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. Since they have laboratory manufactured built-in defenses against disease and pests, they are a frequently misunderstood segment of food production.

Growing up, Desire Smith’s closest connection to the land was shopping for produce at Wal-Mart. Born and raised in a food desert in inner city Milwaukee, she became interested in agriculture as a high school student on a visit to the school’s greenhouse and was able to get an after-school job working there.

Russia presents a unique opportunity for conservation scientists: the chance to study the impact of land use changes on wildlife populations. Volker Radeloff and Anna Pidgeon, two of UW-Madison’s Forest and Wildlife Ecology professors, are partnering with Russian scientists to explore how wildlife populations are responding to the expansion of forests and wildlands—the opposite of… Read more »

It’s a simple question with a complex answer: How do plants know when to flower? Thanks to biochemistry professor Rick Amasino, we now know a lot more about the genes and environmental variables—for example, changes in temperature or length of day—governing that process, as well as how to control it. Amasino and his team also… Read more »

While the journey from seed to plate may be unfamiliar to us, that doesn’t mean that it happens by accident. Behind the scenes, scores of people work tirelessly to make sure that our food makes it safely to our pantries, and to ensure that future generations will always have plenty to eat.

What makes a perfect dairy cow? It takes a trained eye to notice bovine features that hold great promise for the milking parlor. A tight udder, yes, but also the more subtle points: lean thighs, a sweeping rear slant to the ribs, a long neck, a fluid stride. And a skilled judge has to back… Read more »

They bear names like “Blissful Bites,” a vanilla yogurt nugget coated with crunchy oats, flax and puffed rice; “Pixie Dust,” freeze-dried, powdered fruit that becomes a smooth, nutritious drink when mixed with milk or water; and “Walking Wok,” a chicken and vegetable stir-fry wrapped in a gluten-free tortilla. But as fun and delicious as these… Read more »

Even though scientists have studied them extensively, there is still a lot we don’t yet know about bacteria. The biggest issue is how small they are. Individually, their size makes them difficult to observe under a microscope.

Since public engagement can have an immense impact on the scientific community, Scheufele and Brossard are hoping to be able to foster conversation about where science is headed, rather than shutting down discussion entirely.

“Busy as a bee” seems like just another phrase—until you spend time tracking each tiny insect’s flight pattern. UW-Madison graduate student Jeremy Hemberger is doing just that, and he’s hoping his work will help farmers optimize crop production.